It kills me that Discovery delivers a terrific episode like, “Species 10-C” that finds the crew desperately trying to communicate with an alien race so different than they and far more advanced by using math and chemistry, yet the proverbial turd that won’t flush, Tarka, pops along every now and then to utterly ruin every minute he’s in.
Tarka is just… the worst. He’s supposed to be a brilliant scientist, yet every move he makes is twinged with the incredible idiocy that would make him a Sonic the Hedgehog villain in any other reality. This week, his plan went full potato and we, as an audience, have no choice but to watching in mute fascination as Discovery is pulled into his one dimensional wake.
And that stinks twice as bad because the rest of the episode was unquestionably spectacular. Watching the crew of Discovery use logic and science to bridge a communication gap doesn’t sound that exciting, but the story was stuffed to bursting with excellent writing and performances.
Species 10-C is so completely unlike anything else we’ve seen on Star Trek before and the concept is being explored and exploited in such an interesting and investing way. Even though the season has been uneven, especially in its last half, I’ve never lost interest in Discovery contacting the mysterious race of aliens and I still haven’t.
It’s just too bad it’s being dragged down by the entire Tarka storyline which seems to get more and more unbearable with each episode.
You know it’s telling when even the gift that is Jet Reno can’t make the scenes with him any better.
Jason Gaston 